Edith Roosevelt

Edith Roosevelt
Portrait, c. 1903
First Lady of the United States
In role
September 14, 1901 – March 4, 1909
PresidentTheodore Roosevelt
Preceded byIda McKinley
Succeeded byHelen Taft
Second Lady of the United States
In role
March 4, 1901 – September 14, 1901
Vice PresidentTheodore Roosevelt
Preceded byJennie Hobart
Succeeded byCornelia Fairbanks
First Lady of New York
In role
January 1, 1899 – December 31, 1900
GovernorTheodore Roosevelt
Preceded byLois Black
Succeeded byLinda Odell
Personal details
Born
Edith Kermit Carow

(1861-08-06)August 6, 1861
Norwich, Connecticut, U.S.
DiedSeptember 30, 1948(1948-09-30) (aged 87)
Oyster Bay, New York, U.S.
Resting placeYoungs Memorial Cemetery
Spouse
(m. 1886; died 1919)
Children
Parent
Signature

Edith Kermit Roosevelt (née Carow; August 6, 1861 – September 30, 1948) was the second wife of President Theodore Roosevelt and the first lady of the United States from 1901 to 1909. She also was the second lady of the United States prior to that in 1901. Roosevelt was the first First Lady to employ a full-time, salaried social secretary. Her tenure resulted in the creation of an official staff and her formal dinners and ceremonial processions served to elevate the position of First Lady.

Early life

Childhood

Edith Kermit Carow was born August 6, 1861, in Norwich, Connecticut, to Charles Carow and Gertrude Elizabeth Tyler, the first of their two daughters. Though her family was wealthy, her father was an unsuccessful businessman as well as a chronic gambler and an alcoholic, while her mother was a hypochondriac. For much of her childhood, her family was forced to move in with various relatives. She was troubled by her childhood, and she rarely spoke of her parents throughout her adult life.

The Carows were close friends with their neighbors, the Roosevelts, and Edith's early schooling took place at the Roosevelt home, as well as etiquette instruction at the Dodsworth School. Corinne Roosevelt was Edith's closest childhood friend, and Edith was often brought along with the Roosevelt children in their family activities. At age four, she stood with the Roosevelts on their balcony to watch Abraham Lincoln's funeral procession. Edith and Corinne formed their own literature club as children, the "Party of Renowned Eligibles", in which Edith served as club secretary each week over three years. Edith also bonded with Corinne's brother, Theodore Roosevelt, over their mutual love of literature.

The Carows moved uptown in 1871, where Edith attended Miss Comstock's School. Here she developed a lifelong sense of strict religious morality. She also took a more active interest in English literature, with a particular focus on the works of William Shakespeare, and she learned to speak fluent French. During the celebrations for the first centennial of the United States in 1876, Edith visited the White House, afterward commenting that it would be unlikely that she should ever visit it again. After graduating from Miss Comstock's School in 1879, she participated in New York social life, attending balls and making social calls. She was unable to travel, as she had to stay home tending for her parents, who had both grown ill.

Adolescence and young adulthood

Edith and Theodore grew closer as teenagers, and they developed romantic feelings for one another. They stayed in touch when Theodore went to Harvard University, but they had a falling out in August 1878. The details surrounding this stage of their relationship are not known. Various reasons have been proposed by the families and by historians for their split, including a rejected proposal, Theodore Roosevelt Sr.'s disapproval of Charles Carow's alcoholism, a rumor that the Roosevelts were afflicted with scrofula, or clashing personalities between two people with strong tempers. They revitalized their friendship in December 1879. Theodore was engaged with Alice Hathaway Lee at this time. This caused Edith grief, but she held a dinner in the couple's honor and then attended their wedding. She maintained a close relationship with the Roosevelts over the following years, though she was cold toward Alice. Edith's father died from alcohol-related illness in 1883.

After the deaths of Theodore's wife and his mother in February 1884, he moved west and distanced himself from his life in New York, and Edith did not see him for the following year. He avoided her intentionally, worrying that he would betray Alice by having feelings for Edith. Theodore returned to New York in September 1885, where he encountered Edith by chance at his sister's house. They were secretly engaged in November 1885, unwilling to disclose that Theodore was to rewed so soon after the death of his wife. After their engagement was set, they separated for eight months so Edith could help her mother and sister move to Europe while Theodore could settle his business affairs on the frontier. They remained in contact by letter, but Edith preserved only one of these letters.

Edith and her sister had inherited an interest in a building on Stone Street in New York, and in 1886 they took the New York Elevated Railroad Company and the Manhattan Railway Company, alleging that they caused damage to the building during rail construction. The trial went on until it was decided in the Carow sisters' favor in 1890.

Marriage and family

Sagamore Hill

Portrait of President Theodore Roosevelt's second wife, Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt, standing next to their son, Quentin

Edith and Theodore traveled to London, where they were wed at St George's, Hanover Square on December 2, 1886. Over the winter, they spent their honeymoon in Europe, going to France and visiting Edith's family where they had taken residence in Italy before returning to England. The Roosevelts returned to New York in March 1887. For the next two months, they stayed with Theodore's sister, Bamie. Then they moved into the Oyster Bay home that Theodore had intended to live in with his first wife, Sagamore Hill. She promptly had her own family's furniture brought in to replace that which was intended to be used by Theodore's first wife. This became the family's home for the rest of their lives. Edith decided that her stepdaughter Alice was to live with them and that Alice was to refer to her as her mother. Separating Alice from her aunt, who had previously been caring for her, began a lifelong enmity between Edith and her stepdaughter.

Sagamore Hill had a staff of approximately 12 servants, and Edith found herself learning to manage the entire staff and estate by herself. Each morning, Edith tended to the household chores while Theodore worked on his writing, and then they would go out walking or rowing in the afternoons. She was content with a quiet, domestic life, but she accepted that Theodore would frequently bring home company for her to entertain. To her displeasure, her husband was frequently away on trips west. At this time, she began suffering headaches that plagued her for the rest of her life, sometimes leaving her bedridden.

Edith's first child, Theodore Jr., was born September 13, 1887. She hired her own childhood nanny, Mary Ledwith, to care for the children. Following his birth, she underwent a period of postpartum depression. She experienced a miscarriage the following year. In addition to her growing family, she also considered her husband to be one of the children for his involvement in the children's trouble-making, and she cared for their family friend Cecil Spring Rice during his visits.

In October 1888, Edith joined Theodore in traveling west to campaign for Benjamin Harrison in that year's that year's presidential election, and she found the experience enjoyable. After Harrison's victory, he repaid Theodore with a position on the Civil Service Commission the following year. By this time, Edith was pregnant again, and she stayed at Sagamore Hill while Theodore moved to Washington, D.C. Theodore's absences especially took a toll on her while she pregnant, causing her depression. Edith's second son, Kermit, was born on October 10, 1889. She joined her husband in Washington that December.

Washington, D.C.

During her time in Washington, Edith took on more serious hosting responsibilities as the wife of a political figure, and she befriended several of the city's major figures, developing a particularly close friendship with Henry Adams. She found that she preferred Washington to New York, and after arriving, she made her first of many visits to the Smithsonian Institution and Fischer's antique shop. Later in life, she looked back fondly on these years. Attending several receptions in 1890, Edith was received at the White House with her husband, now as a guest rather than a tourist. She retired to Sagamore Hill at the end of the social season that summer, and she accompanied Theodore on his travels west. While initially hesitant, she came to share her husband's love of the Badlands and Yellowstone.

Edith gave birth to a daughter, Ethel, on August 13, 1891. With her family growing, and with both their New York and Washington homes to maintain, the family struggled financially. Edith found herself in charge of all the family's finances over the following years, keeping meticulous records and allotting $20 per day to her husband. The increasingly erratic behavior of Theodore's alcoholic brother, Elliott, became the family's primary focus until his sudden death in 1893.

The Roosevelts were invited to dine at the White House for the first time on February 1, 1894, by President Grover Cleveland, where Edith was sat directly next to the president. A few months later, Edith had another son, Archibald, on April 9, 1894. When Theodore considered running a campaign to be mayor of New York in 1894, Edith implored him not to because she preferred life in Washington and because they could not count on a mayor's salary. He severely regretted not running to the point of depression, and Edith made a short-lived promise not to give further input on his political career.

Entering public life

Theodore was appointed New York City Police Commissioner in 1895, and the Roosevelts returned to New York as their primary residence. Edith was forced to leave Washington after establishing a strong social circle in the city, though the move also came with an increased salary for Theodore. In April of the same year, Edith's mother died, and Edith's sister Emily came to live with the Roosevelts for several months. Theodore was rarely at home as he became heavily invested in his work as police commissioner. She eventually joined him in the city when he would work overnight, and after her period of mourning for her mother ended, Edith began attending cultural events in the city.

The Roosevelts returned to Washington in 1897 when Theodore was appointed Assistant Secretary of the Navy by the newly-elected William McKinley. Edith once again delayed a move to Washington because of pregnancy. Her youngest child, Quentin, was born on November 9, 1897. She spent the following four months recovering from an abdominal abscess, which was ultimately treated with surgery.

When the Spanish–American War broke out, Edith supported American efforts to end Spanish rule over Cuba. Though she was apprehensive about Theodore's desire to join the fighting, she defended his decision against critics. Edith traveled to Florida on June 1, 1898, to see Theodore off as he left to fight with the Rough Riders. She wrote to him almost every day while he was away and stayed informed through newspaper, which often covered Theodore's exploits with the Rough Riders as he became increasingly famous. The Rough Riders returned to the United States that August and were put under quarantine in Montauk, New York, as disease had spread on the battlefield. Violating the quarantine, Edith and Theodore secretly reunited, and she worked tirelessly over the next four days as a Red Cross volunteer at the camp.

Theodore had returned as a war hero, and their home became a place of public interest. When Theodore began his campaign to be elected Governor of New York, Edith worried he would be targeted by anarchist assassins. She did not join him on the campaign, out of both her need to support the children and her desire to avoid public attention. She instead took charge of the mail that he received. Theodore went on to win the election.

First lady of New York

At the reception for Theodore's inauguration as governor, Edith held a bouquet in each hand so that she would not have to shake hands with thousands of visitors—a practice that she continued throughout her husband's political career. By this time, her children were older, and their time in school or with a governess gave Edith some degree of freedom from her previous responsibilities. She renovated the New York State Executive Mansion in Albany after moving in so that it was a suitable home for her children, and she redecorated the mansion with new artwork.

Edith grew comfortable with her life in Albany, as the family was financially secure and her role as first lady allowed her to spend more time with her husband. She pursued new hobbies in the city, joining the Friday Morning Club and accompanying Frances Parsons on botanical trips. Edith was more cautious about public life, as her husband had become one of the most prominent American political figures. Her receptions and her public activity became the subject of national press coverage, though the coverage was generally positive. When entertaining, Edith's primary focus was the flower arrangements, while an aide addressed food, seating, and music. In March 1900, Edith and her sister vacationed in Cuba where she visited San Juan Hill, the site of her husband's most famous battle.

Edith was uncomfortable with the proposition of Theodore running for Vice President of the United States. It would again uproot the family's lives in a move to Washington, and it would involve a cut in Theodore's salary. The two at one point drafted an official declination of the role saying he was needed as the governor of New York, but he attended the 1900 Republican National Convention, and he was chosen to join the Republican electoral ticket. In the days leading up to the convention, the Roosevelts dined at the White House with President McKinley, where Edith reveled in the fact that she and Theodore were much younger than the other guests of their status. As the presidential campaign commenced, she tended to their home while he traveled to garner support. She became incredibly thin during the campaign, caused by the stress of Theodore being away and the possibility that he might win. After Theodore was elected vice president, Edith began receiving requests that she donate some of her possessions to be auctioned, as was common for prominent women of the time. She started a diary, deciding that her insights as the wife of a public figure were worth preserving.

Second lady of the United States

Edith attended Theodore's inauguration as vice president in Washington on March 4, 1901. Edith and the children subsequently had lunch with the McKinleys, watched the inaugural parade, and then returned to Sagamore Hill. Theodore joined the rest of the family soon after, as the vice president was not needed until the next Congressional session later in the year. Edith felt that the vice presidency was not a good fit for him, as the job gave him little to do. Nonetheless, she enjoyed the time that she was able to spend with him. Over the following months, they attended the Pan-American Exposition, went horseback riding with Edith's new horse Yagenka, and endured a variety of medical ailments in the family.

In August 1901, Edith took her children on a vacation to the Adirondack Mountains while Theodore was on a speaking tour. It was here that she received a telephone call from her husband informing her that President McKinley had been shot. Edith correctly speculated that the perpetrator was an anarchist. On September 14, 1901, McKinley died. Only six months into his term as vice president, Theodore became president of the United States, and Edith became first lady of the United States.

First lady of the United States

Becoming first lady

Official portrait of First Lady Edith Roosevelt

Edith's first duty as first lady was to attend the funeral of William McKinley. She dreaded the idea of Theodore being president, fearing both for his safety and for her children who would receive national attention. Only after leaving the White House did she realize how much anxiety her worries brought her during her tenure. Especially stressful for her were Theodore's absences on tours and hunting trips, during which she was in a fear of constant worry until his return. She received some relief as she became first lady when she spoke to former President Cleveland about her concern for Theodore, to which he simply responded "don't worry, he is all right".

Upon entering the White House, Edith rearranged the furniture in the living quarters and then promptly slept for two days. One benefit of their new position meant that the Roosevelts no longer had to worry about money, and she came to enjoy her life as first lady. Instead of overseeing meal preparation in the White House, Edith hired caterers, allowing her to lighten her schedule and to avoid potential criticism for her own catering decisions. She likewise delegated management of the staff to the chief usher. Rather than hire a housekeeper, Edith took responsibility for the care of the mansion.

Life as first lady

Edith's morning activities while first lady included answering her mail, reading the newspaper, shopping, and studying French. In the evenings, she went horseback riding with her husband and spent time with her children. Despite the tribulations of White House life, Edith and Theodore adored one another and maintained a strong relationship. Each Tuesday, Edith organized a meeting with all of the wives of cabinet members to run concurrently with cabinet meetings, which they used to plan and budget White House entertainment, allowing them to collaborate and preventing White House events from being overshadowed. Here Edith also governed who was allowed on guest lists, excluding anyone that did not meet her moral standards, particularly those who were involved in adultery.

In February 1902, Theodore Jr contracted a severe case of pneumonia, and Edith traveled to where he was attending in school in Massachusetts. The saga was closely monitored by the press. In 1907, Archibald contracted a life-threatening case of diphtheria. Edith tended to him and approved intense treatments, including circumcision. Even her husband had his own share of ailments, as he continued living his strenuous life in his 40s, and it fell to Edith to care for him and hide any health concerns from the public. Among the worst of his health scares occurred when his carriage crashed, injuring the president and killing a secret service agent. The resulting leg injury caused an abscess, and she rushed to Washington from Oyster Bay as two surgeries were performed.

Edith hoped for another child while she was first lady, but her two pregnancies in 1902 and 1903 both resulted in miscarriages. Edith was confident in Theodore's chances for his reelection, as she had a low estimation of his opponent, Alton B. Parker. Despite this, she still lost five pounds from the stress as the election neared. In Theodore's second term, Edith arranged the purchase of a building in the Blue Ridge Mountains to make it into the presidential retreat Pine Knot. Toward the end of her tenure as first lady, Archibald Butt was assigned as her personal bodyguard, and he accompanied her while she shopped and went on walks.

White House hostess

The nation was in mourning when the Roosevelts entered the White House, so the first lady's traditional role of hosting social events was postponed for 30 days. As Washington became active again, Edith increased the amount of social events held by the White House each season, including dinners, teas, garden parties, and concerts. The 1902 social season saw approximately 40,000 people visit the White House, far more than any previous year.

Edith found comfort in the fact that the first lady did not have to make social calls, instead receiving the social calls of others each afternoon. Being first lady came with new obligations that brought Edith displeasure, including participation in large receiving lines and the White House Easter Egg Roll. Though at this point it was common to refer to the president's wife as the "first lady", she never used the title herself, instead signing her name as Mrs. Roosevelt.

While the Roosevelts were staying in Oyster Bay in 1902, Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich of Russia was touring the United States, and he engaged in what Edith considered to be vulgar behavior. She refused to recognize him socially, leaving to have lunch with relatives before he arrived. Her rejection of the duke was praised by the press and by members of the Russian aristocracy.

When Theodore won reelection, the tone of the White House improved, as the beginning of this term was a cause for celebration instead of the somber feelings and mourning that followed the assassination of President McKinley.

White House renovations

Bedroom of First Daughter Alice Roosevelt at the White House circa 1902. This room was an unnamed bedroom suite from the time of its completion in 1809 until 1860, when it was named the Prince of Wales Room. It was renamed the Lincoln Bedroom in 1929, a name it retained until the bedroom suite was removed in 1961 and the space transformed into the Family Kitchen and the President's Dining Room.

Edith disliked the White House upon moving in, describing it as "like living over the store". As the scope of federal politics had changed over the 19th century, the building had become cramped with more employees and demand for workspace restricted the residential areas. In 1902, renovations began on the building, and the Roosevelts found other places to live for six months. While Theodore moved to a home on Lafayette Square, Edith returned to Sagamore Hill with the children. From here, she stayed updated on the renovations and prevented the implementation of any ideas she disliked. The renovations were carried out by McKim, Mead & White.

The earliest point of contention was the location of the White House conservatory. Architect Charles Follen McKim wished to destroy it, and Edith protested. They settled on relocating the conservatory, an agreement that McKim dubbed the "Treaty of Oyster Bay". She also objected to McKim's proposed design for her writing desk, calling it "ugly and inconvenient".

Edith saw the construction of a feature long desired by past first ladies: separate living quarters secluded from the executive offices and public areas where the family could live uninterrupted by visitors. This separation came with the establishment of the West Wing and the East Wing. Aware that extravagant spending could provoke controversy, she reduced costs wherever possible, having older furniture brought in rather than purchasing newer items. The largest change was in the East Room, which was entirely redesigned, including a new ceiling, wallpaper, carpeting, and three electric crystal chandeliers. She also had a tennis court installed, hoping that it would encourage her husband to maintain a healthy weight. Other renovations included changes to the public areas and a redesign of the garden. The renovations were generally received positively. The Roosevelts moved back in to the White House on November 4, 1902, as renovations neared completion. They were completely finished by the following month.

After the State Dining Room was expanded to seat over one hundred guests, Edith purchased more china for the White House. As they were unable to find American-made china, Edith had Wedgwood china imported and then painted with the great seal in the United States. She then ensured the continuation of the White House china collection that was started by Caroline Harrison. Along with her social secretary Hagner and reporter Abby Gunn Baker, Edith tracked down much of the china used by previous administrations. She also organized the creation of a portrait gallery that featured official portraits of the first ladies; since then, every first lady has had an official portrait of her likeness produced.

Political influence

Edith had little interest in the political affairs of the Republican Party and its members. Despite this, her influence over Theodore persisted throughout his presidency, and she would dissuade him from ideas she disliked. When Theodore asked for reduced security, Edith instructed the Secret Service to ignore his request. She also had two Secret Service agents stationed at Pine Knot each night without telling Theodore.

Edith did not share her political opinions publicly, but she often shared them with her husband—a fact that was generally known by the public. She took an interest in certain political issues and gave her evaluations of the men with whom the Roosevelts interacted. She sometimes worked together with William Loeb Jr., the president's secretary, to convince Theodore of her ideas. For her sitting room, Edith used an oval library adjacent to the president's office. From here, she could watch over him and scold him if he was working too late.

Shortly after becoming first lady, Edith put her efforts toward helping her friend Frances Metcalfe Wolcott fix her marriage following a divorce. Theodore wished to keep her ex-husband, former senator Edward O. Wolcott, from returning to the senate, in part because of political alliances, but possibly in part because Edith had a negative opinion of him for neglecting Frances. They were successful in keeping Edward from being elected, but he never reunited with Frances.

During peace negotiations for the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, Edith was an intermediary between Theodore and Spring-Rice, who at this point was a diplomat at the British embassy in Russia. It would have been untoward for the two to communicate directly given their respective positions, but Spring-Rice wrote to Edith and his letters included valuable information for Theodore. In 1905, Edith joined Theodore in a voyage to Panama to oversee the construction of the Panama Canal. As the Roosevelts' time in the White House came to an end, Edith had her reservations when Theodore selected secretary of war William Howard Taft as his successor to run as a candidate in the 1908 presidential election. This was complicated by the attempts of his wife, Helen Herron Taft, to exert her own influence on the White House.

Charitable work and the arts

Edith sponsored a variety of classical instrumentalists and singers, giving them a venue to perform at the White House. Edith enjoyed classical music, such as the work of Richard Wagner. She featured the famous German composer Engelbert Humperdinck when he visited the United States, which led to her appearance at a charity performance of Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel for the The Legal Aid Society. Edith also supported the theater and allowed the performance of plays at the White House at a time when actors were seen as lower class.

Edith donated handkerchiefs and other items to be auctioned for charity during the first two years of her tenure, establishing a "handkerchief bureau" to facilitate the donations. This practice ended after the handkerchiefs were scrutinized and criticized, which caused her a great deal of emotional distress.

Edith frequently did needlework for charity, participating in the St. Hilda Sewing Circle with Oyster Bay's Christ Episcopal Church. In 1907, she joined the New York Assembly of Mothers.

Press and public relations

Among Edith's greatest concerns with becoming first lady was the effect it had on her privacy. She valued her privacy, and she considered the press to be her greatest annoyance while living in the White House. She would exert her influence over journalists, such as on occasions when she wore the same dress multiple times but convinced the reporters to describe it differently. To control media coverage of her family, she had photographs taken of herself and her children that were then given to the press.

It became common practice for well-off women to hire a secretary in the 1890s, but no such secretary had ever been hired by a first lady. A few weeks into her tenure, Edith hired Belle Hagner as a social secretary, creating the first formalized staff office for the first lady. Hagner was responsible for answering Edith's mail, managing her schedule, overseeing guest lists, and communicating information about the first lady's activities to the press.

Edith was widely popular as first lady, maintaining strong public approval until her tenure ended. She was compared positively against her predecessor, Ida Saxton McKinley, whose poor health prevented her from being active as first lady. The Roosevelts were seen as a model family by the public.

When Mamie Fish wrote a critical article about the first lady's fashion, Edith chose to cut it from the newspaper and place it in her scrapbook. The first published caricature of a first lady depicted Edith during her husband's dinner at the White House with Booker T. Washington. As Edith's tenure as first lady was ending, she caused controversy because she intended to keep a $40 couch that had been purchased during White House renovations. After the backlash, she decided to leave it behind, saying that it was now tainted by negative associations of the affair.

Relationship with her children

President Theodore Roosevelt and Mrs. Edith Roosevelt seated on lawn, surrounded by their family; 1903. From left to right: Quentin, Theodore Sr., Theodore III, Archibald, Alice, Kermit, Edith, and Ethel.

Roosevelt was a devoted mother who spent several hours a day with her children and read to them daily. She and her husband took an active role in their children's education and often corresponded with their children's teachers.

Roosevelt had a complicated relationship with her stepdaughter, Alice. In later years, Alice expressed admiration for her stepmother's sense of humor and stated that they had similar literary tastes. In her autobiography Crowded Hours, Alice wrote of Edith, "That I was the child of another marriage was a simple fact and made a situation that had to be coped with, and Mother coped with it with a fairness and charm and intelligence which she has to a greater degree than almost any one else I know."

Views on race

On October 16, 1901, President Roosevelt invited African-American educator Booker T. Washington to dine with his family at the White House. Several other presidents had invited African-Americans to meetings at the White House, but never to a meal. News of the dinner between a former slave and the president of the United States became a national sensation. The subject of inflammatory articles and cartoons, it shifted the national conversation around race at the time. Some Republicans tried to spin the dinner into a lunch. As Deborah Davis explained on NPR, "they got hungry and they ordered a tray, and by the time they were finished, there was barely a sandwich on it. And that seemed to make the meal a little more palatable in the South." The lunch story persisted for decades, until finally in the 1930s, a journalist from Baltimore's Afro-American newspaper asked Edith Roosevelt if it was lunch or dinner. Edith checked her calendar, and she said it was most definitely dinner.

The dinner secured Washington's position as the leading black figure and spokesman in the United States. Deborah Davis believes that Edith admired Booker T. Washington. In a March 1901 letter, Theodore Roosevelt wrote to Booker, "Mrs. Roosevelt is as pleased as I am with your book."

According to biographer Lewis Gould, careful reading of Edith's private correspondence reveals racial views that go beyond what he calls the genteel bigotry" of her time. In 1902 and 1903 "Misses Turner and Miss Leech" performed at the Roosevelt White House. The women specialized in "Negro Songs" and Lewis Gould argued that by showcasing these performers, Edith entertained "guests with crude melodic stereotypes depicting an oppressed racial minority."

Later life and death

Seated, left to right, are Archibald Bulloch Roosevelt, Jr., Theodore Roosevelt, Grace Stackpole Lockwood Roosevelt, Richard Derby, Jr., Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt, Edith Roosevelt Derby Williams, and Ethel Carow Roosevelt Derby. Richard Derby Jr. is holding a service flag with three stars, which symbolized three of Roosevelt's sons, Quentin, Archie, and Theodore III

Edith's last decades included extensive travel to Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America. After leaving the White House, Theodore Roosevelt and Kermit went on a safari while Edith took Ethel, Archie, and Quentin on an extended tour of Europe.

The Smithsonian’s First Lady collection was created soon after the Roosevelts left the White House. When the museum's advocates asked her for a contribution, Edith said that she wasn't sure she could help: she often cut up dresses for the material after she wore them, and her inaugural gown was no exception. Her daughter later donated the remaining bottom half, and the Smithsonian refashioned the bodice using photographs.

Edith did not advocate for her husband's 1912 third-party presidential race but supported him fully when it was underway formally. She tended him after the assassination attempt, consoled him when he lost the election, and accompanied him to Brazil to see him off as he explored the River of Doubt. Both Roosevelts contributed to home-front activities during World War I. For example, Edith Roosevelt was the honorary president of The Needlework Guild of America, one of the oldest nonprofits in the United States which provided new clothes to the poor, from 1917 to 1921.

Edith urged Republican women to vote after the 19th Amendment was passed.

On January 6, 1919, her husband died of a pulmonary embolism in his sleep. He was 60 years old.

During the Great Depression, Edith campaigned briefly for Herbert Hoover to emphasize that the Democratic nominee, Franklin Roosevelt, was not her son. Edith had disliked Eleanor since Eleanor's childhood and animosity had existed between the two women since the 1920s when Eleanor campaigned against Theodore Roosevelt Jr. during his run for governor of New York.

Before her death, Edith destroyed almost all of her correspondence with her husband. However, Edith was a prodigious letter writer and her letters survive in archives such as the Houghton Library.

Edith died at Sagamore Hill on September 30, 1948, at the age of 87. She is buried next to her husband at Youngs Memorial Cemetery in Oyster Bay.


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